Valve cup and guide.



J. W. DICKINSON.

VALVE 0UP AND GUIDE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1914.

1,11 1,368. a ented Se t. 22, 1914.

IWIIH Emma/mes: m m m ai fiisflbtomw THE NORRIS PETERS 60.. PHOm-LITHQ. WASHINGTDN, D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOSEPH W. DICKINSON, OF CRANFO RD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR T0 SCI-IUBERT PIANO COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

VALVE CUP AND GUIDE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 16, 1914,

Patented Sept. 22, 1914.

Serial No. 838,915.

To all whom it may concern:

' Be it known that I, JOSEPH W. DICKIN- SON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Oranford, in the county of Union and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Valve Cups and Guides, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has to do with musical instruments of that character known as piano-player actions, having more particularly to do, however, with an improved valve cup and guide forthe valves of such piano-player actions, the object of the invention being to provide an improved valve cup and guide which will not swell, buckle or warp, or be affected by the weather, so that the valve and its stem will not be thrown out of alinement and yet will not grip the stem so tight that the valve will stick so that itcannot properly move up or down, and which is also so constructed that it will not wabble'in the openings provided therefor, and which improvement consists of a combined valve cup and guide constructed in one piece in a very simple, easy and inexpensive manner, and which may be readily stamped out of metal and yet have the advantages herein enumerated.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a sectional view illustrating a valve such as is used with a piano-player action and a pair of these improved cups; Fig.2 is a perspective View of one of'these improved valve cups; Fig. 3 is a perspective View from the opposite side of one of these improved valve cups; and Fig. 1 is a cross-sectional view of one of these improved valve cups.

Similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings. a

The present improved valve cup and guide comprises a laterally extending flange 2 by means of which it may be fastened to some suitable support, having a cup-shaped portion 3 so formed that there is provided a narrow straight exterior surface or band 4 from which the cup-shaped portion tapers, as at 5, the free edge of which is then bent inwardly into the cup-shaped portion, as at 6, to form a convex seat 6, and this seat, that is the inwardly extending portion thereof, is provided with a plurality of inwardly extending projections or prongs 7, shown herein as four in number, forming a central opening 8 for the passage of the stem 9 of the valve 10. These projections thus form a guide for the stem to hold it in proper position for the valve to seat, while at the same time the openings 11 at the sides of the projections provide passages for the air. Thus there is provided a valve seat having inwardly extending projections forming a guide for the stem of the valve but which valve seat is not materially obstructed so that the passage of air is not appreciably interfered with. In practice a pair of these improved valve cups and guides are used, one at each end of the valve, for guiding the opposed stems of such valve. By the provision of the narrow straight band the valve cup can be forced into the opening of its supporting part to properly center it and be maintained against wabbling or play, which would be present if this portion of the cup tapered from the flange 2. Heretofore it has been the usual practice to provide these valve cups with separate bridges or valve guide bars made of fiber or wood, which arematerially affected by the weather, each such bar having an opening for the valve stem. But this required the alinement of four parts, the two cups and the two bridges or bars, whereas in the present case the guides being formed of metal and as an integral part of the cup, there are but two parts to be alined, to wit the two cups, and therefore the two extra bridges and the extra labor of attaching these parts is done away with and as the construction readily permits the cups to be made of metal by stamping them they are not affected by the weather conditions and there is no liability of the structure becoming warped or buckling or swelling and no danger of the valve stems sticking in the guides, and owing to the manner in which the cups are formed with the narrow straight band they Will center themselves in the openings provided in the support for holding the cups.

I claim as my invention:

1. A valve cup having a seat and free ended projections integral therewith for guiding the stems of the valve.

2. A valve cup having an annular straight centering portion merging into a tapered portion terminating in a valve seat.

3. A valve cup having an annular stra-ight centering portion merging into a tapered portion, said tapered portion having inwardly extending free ended projections forming a guide for the stem of the valve.

4. A valve cup having an angular straight portion merging into a tapered portion, said tapered ortion having an inwardly formed portion orming a seat.

5. A valve cup having an annular straight portion merging into a tapered portion, said tapered portion havingan inwardly formed portion forming a seat, and projections extending inwardly from said seat and forming guide for'the stem of a valve.

6. A valve cup comprising a flange and a cup-shaped annular portion comprising a narrow straight portion merging into a tapered portion terminating in a valve seat.

7. A valve cup comprising a flange and a cup-shaped annular portion comprising a narrow straight portion merging into a tapered portion, said tapered portion terminating in an inwardly extending portion forming a valve seat.

81 A-valve cup com-prising a flange and a cup-shaped annular portion comprising a narrow straight portion merging into a tapered portion, said tapered portion terminating in an inwardly extending portion forming a valve seat, and said s'eat having inwardly extending projections forming a guide for the stem of the valve.

9'. A valve cup comprising a flange and a cup-shaped annular portion comprising a narrow straight portion and a tapered por-' tion, said tapered portion terminating in an inwardly extending portion forming a valve seat, and said seat having four inwardly extending free ended projections forming a guide for the stem of a valve.

10. A stamped metal integrally formed valve cup and valve stem uide, the guide consisting of a plurality 0% free ended inwardly extendin portions or projections.

11. A stampe metal integrally formed valve cup and valve stem guide, the cup consisting of a tapered portion and the guide consisting of a plurality of inwardly extending free ended prongs.

12. A stamped metal integrally formed valve cup and valve stem guide, the cup consisting of an annular straight portion merging into a tapered portion, the latter provided with a valve seat and the seat provided with a plurality of inwardly extending free ended prongs.

13. A stamped metal integrally formed val've cup and valve stem guide, the cup consisting of a straight annular portion merging into a' tapered portion, said tapered portion having an inwardly extending portion forming a convex valve seat, and the guide consisting of a plurality of free ended prongs extending inwardly from said seat.

145. A metal integrally formed valve cup and valve stem guide, the cup consisting of an attaching portion, a centering portion, a valve seat merging into an inwardly extending annular portion, said annular portion having independent inwardly extending projections forming a guide, said projection's spaced one from another.

JOSEPH W. DICKINSON.

Witnesses:

PETER S. DUFFY, CHAS M. JERoLoMAN.

06910 of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C. 

